Chapter 452: The Monster of War
When communication between people failed to resolve issues, and differences still persisted, the monster called war was born into the world.
From the moment of its birth, war had drunk deeply of blood and devoured countless souls.
Kenichi stood with his arms crossed, watching as Orochimaru mobilized the ninja of the Land of Flame, arranged logistics, consolidated war materials, and prepared equipment.
His eyes seemed slightly unfocused.
Strictly speaking, Kenichi did not like war.
Although that might sound strange, considering he was the one who had instigated the current war, Kenichi's primary goal had always been to achieve his objectives. Fundamentally, he disliked war.
Because war meant the deaths of countless people.
It meant bloodshed and sacrifice.
Its damage to the economy and social stability was fatal.
A classic saying from his previous life could prove how much people hated war.
Better to be a dog in a prosperous era than a human in a chaotic one.
Every period of war was torment.
Torment for the survivors.
Torment for the dead.
Kenichi hated war.
But he had no choice.
He had tried to divide the four Villages of the Shinobi World. He had sent letters to Konoha and Kumogakure. During that time, he had even prepared for the possibility of Konoha or the Hidden Cloud Village sending people over. He had thought about how to deal with them and how to buy himself time to develop.
But the war had still begun.
"The clouds of war, it seems, have never truly dispersed from this world."
Kenichi sighed as he looked at the white clouds overhead.
Before Kaguya came to this world to plant the Divine Tree, war certainly already existed, but it had been more primitive then.
When Kaguya arrived, it became an internal war of the Otsutsuki Clan, with two filial sons sealing away their own mother.
Then ninja were born, and the nature of war suddenly shifted from cold weapons to supernatural warfare.
More people died.
The harm done to ordinary people increased dramatically.
Humanity had taken a firm step toward self-destruction.
Even after the Ninja Villages were established, the clouds of war did not dissipate.
There had already been three Great Ninja Wars.
And now, this was probably the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"Brother!"
A familiar voice sounded.
A faint smile appeared on Kenichi's face.
He knew who it was.
Hikari.
So he chuckled and lowered his head to look.
Then he saw Hikari.
But immediately after that, Kenichi's expression turned grim.
Hikari was wearing a very old-fashioned battle outfit, similar to the one Madara had once worn.
If not for Hikari's age and gender, Kenichi might even have thought Madara was standing before him at that moment.
It had to be said that Hikari possessed a unique aura.
A decisive, ruthless temperament from the Warring States Period.
"Hikari, what is this...?"
Kenichi looked at Hikari, frowning as he asked.
Although he already knew what Hikari meant by wearing this outfit, it certainly was not because she wanted to play some war game.
Especially since Hikari had lived from the Warring States Period until now.
The meaning of her wearing this attire was self-evident.
"Amamiya-nii, I want to fight alongside you!"
Hikari spoke seriously.
Looking into Hikari's eyes, Kenichi felt his headache growing worse.
As expected, Hikari still wanted to go to war.
Hikari had shown this tendency before, but Kenichi had refused her.
However, Kenichi also knew that for Hikari, war was not frightening.
After all, during the Warring States Period, the Uchiha Clan had never lacked conflict. Every day, they were either fighting one enemy or preparing to fight another.
They were constantly at war.
Hikari had long since grown used to war, and to life and death.
Kenichi wanted to refuse.
He always felt that children should be kept far away from war.
But looking at Hikari's determined eyes, Kenichi knew that at this moment, Hikari was serious.
She truly intended to follow him to the battlefield.
If he refused, it was hard to say whether Hikari would secretly go on her own.
Such a melodramatic scenario was not impossible.
If Hikari were an obedient, well-behaved child, Kenichi would not have worried about that possibility. However, after spending time with her, Kenichi deeply understood that while Hikari appeared docile and obedient on the surface, she had her own strong convictions deep down.
For some reason, Kenichi thought of the warriors who had turned into dandelions for their mothers before he transmigrated in his previous life.
He thought of the little girls who had lost their parents in the ruins.
He thought of the little girls dragging their younger brothers along.
Perhaps his past self in that world had also needed some divine artifact to get rid of oily hair.
"Hikari, the battlefield is not where you should be."
Kenichi smiled gently and ruffled Hikari's head.
"But there are other ways for you to help me."
If persuasion did not work, then offer another path.
A safer path.
That was how people were.
If someone was completely cornered, they were very likely to take an extreme path and do something unpredictable. But if a way out was offered, they would often lose the courage to fight to the death and would consider compromise.
In military strategy, this was called besieging three sides and leaving one open.
Opening a gap could make the enemy's resistance less firm.
Of course, some people could easily see through this. For those people, more troublesome methods were needed.
Hikari blinked and looked at Kenichi, clearly waiting for him to explain how she could help him.
"I remember you said that your Eight Thousand Spears dojutsu can transmit chakra regardless of distance, right?"
Kenichi asked gently.
Hikari immediately nodded.
That was indeed true.
Her dojutsu possessed such an ability.
It could absorb chakra.
It could also transmit chakra to others.
"Then, Hikari, stay here and provide chakra to me."
Kenichi made his decision.
Hikari's will was very firm right now. Forcefully stopping her would likely be useless and might even make her sneak over on her own.
Since that was the case, it would be better to let Hikari stay here as a living power bank.
That would also ensure Hikari's safety.
Besides, Kenichi did not believe he would actually need Hikari to transmit chakra to him.
He had a Sage Body, and he was even afraid of how much chakra he possessed.
"Mm!"
Hikari hesitated for a moment.
But looking at Kenichi, looking at her brother, Hikari still nodded.
She decided to do as he said.
Since her brother had said so, if she did not listen, he would definitely be very unhappy.
Watching Hikari go prepare, Kenichi waved his hand.
Shiori quietly appeared beside him.
"Deliver this letter to position three."
Kenichi spoke calmly and handed over a letter.
Shiori silently accepted it.
Then the letter blurred in her hand before disappearing.
A moment later, the letter had been delivered.
"How is Rin doing now?"
Kenichi thought of Rin.
In this war, the only thing Kenichi could be certain of was that Obito would definitely not join the battlefield in the early stages.
That was inevitable.
For a person like Obito, his teacher and his teacher's wife could be killed without mercy.
Even though his teacher and his teacher's wife had treated him very well.
Even though Kushina had also been kind to him.
He could still kill them mercilessly.
Only when facing Rin would Obito's heart soften.
"Miss Rin is doing well, but lately, she often spaces out," Shiori said respectfully.
Kenichi watched as the ninja teams began to depart in batches, his expression silent.
How to use and leverage Rin was a crucial factor in restraining Obito.
Although Kenichi did not feel that Obito posed any real threat to him now, the thermobaric bomb was almost ready. Once it was thrown into the Kamui dimension, it would at least burn through one of Obito's Izanagi.
However, making good use of Rin to reduce some trouble for himself was also an excellent choice.
"Escort Rin to another location."
Kenichi began explaining his plan.
"Then leave some clues in Rin's original room in the capital. Leave a trail of clues along the way, along with some of Rin's clothes and daily necessities. After that, organize a ninja squad to protect Rin."
Shiori quietly took notes.
"When someone tries to take Rin, try to stall them. If you find that you cannot win, or if the casualties become heavy, then killing Rin becomes the top priority."
Kenichi finished speaking.
"If everyone dies..."
Shiori waited for a moment.
Seeing that Kenichi had no additions and instead waved his hand, she left.
Kenichi watched the ninja teams gradually leaving the capital, his face expressionless.
Many of these ninja were the result of his hard work.
He had to personally perform the gene transplantations to stimulate their Mangekyo Sharingan.
But now...
Kenichi shook his head.
His arrangement should be able to stall Obito for a while.
Kenichi was very certain that Obito would definitely go looking for Rin.
After all, Obito was the most devoted person in the Shinobi World.
So devoted that he was willing to kill his teacher and his teacher's wife.
The only problem was that Obito's heart might still contain Madara's curse mark.
But a devoted Obito would probably find a way to solve that problem himself in order to find Rin.
So when Obito discovered that Rin was gone and found the clues left behind, he would definitely pursue them.
To prevent Obito from giving up halfway, Kenichi had specifically instructed that some of Rin's daily necessities be left behind.
If he were not worried about affecting Rin's judgment, Kenichi would even have wanted to leave behind some of Rin's body parts.
That would provoke Obito into an even greater frenzy.
When Obito found Rin, he would also have to face that ninja squad.
While it was difficult for the ninja squad to deal with Obito, that did not mean it was difficult for them to deal with Rin.
Rin was only a chunin.
Against the attacks of close-combat ninja, she was completely defenseless.
At that time, Obito would inevitably have to protect Rin.
That could be used to severely injure Obito or force him into the Kamui dimension.
And there was also a big surprise waiting for Obito inside the Kamui dimension.
At worst, it could destroy Obito's Izanagi.
With good luck, it might even kill Obito directly.
If Obito perfectly dealt with those ninja squads and also protected Rin from being killed...
Then Kenichi still had a backup plan.
"Obito, I hope you'll like the gift I'm sending you."
Kenichi left.
There was no need to stay here anymore.
It was better to go back and accelerate the fusion of the thermobaric bomb, then send it into Obito's Kamui dimension.
War was about to break out.
Kenichi himself did not have much time to waste.
"Itachi."
In the Land of Rice Fields, inside a small Uchiha Clan village, Shisui found Itachi, who was training with Sasuke.
Shisui's expression was grave.
"What's wrong?"
Itachi wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Beside him, Sasuke looked curiously at his older brother and Shisui.
He was no longer a completely innocent child and already understood quite a few things. Sasuke could also sense the heavy atmosphere in the air.
Itachi was quite satisfied with his current life.
Although his father had died, his mother and younger brother were alive, and his mother had emerged from the shadows. She smiled more often now.
Although life here was not as prosperous as it had been in Konoha, it was better in its freedom.
For this peaceful life, Itachi was willing to give everything.
"..."
Shisui remained silent for a moment, then handed the note in his hand to Itachi.
Itachi accepted it, glanced through it, then returned it to Shisui.
"I'm in," Itachi said calmly.
Shisui nodded.
Neither of them wasted words.
Itachi understood what Shisui meant, and Shisui knew that Itachi understood his thoughts.
No additional communication was needed.
The Uchiha Clan owed Kenichi too much.
Far too much.
This debt of gratitude was difficult to repay.
Even after the previous attack on the Ninja Villages, Shisui did not feel the debt had been settled.
But now, Kenichi had given them this opportunity.
As long as the Uchiha Clan gathered its forces and participated in this Great Ninja War, then after the war, the Uchiha Clan would no longer owe Kenichi a favor.
A favor, for those who cared, weighed heavier than Mount Tai.
For those who did not care, it was merely a joke.
But for the emotionally rich Uchiha Clan, Kenichi's kindness had to be repaid.
Otherwise, Shisui would not be able to rest or eat in peace.
However, Shisui did not force everyone to participate in this battle.
Kenichi had already stated that this was the Fourth Great Ninja War, and all four Ninja Villages were attacking him.
Therefore, only ninja from the Uchiha Clan who volunteered to help were needed.
Any number would do.
Even if it was only Shisui alone.
But Shisui still gathered the Uchiha ninja currently capable of fighting, then read the contents of the note aloud.
Among the Uchiha present, ninety percent raised their hands.
The remaining people were ninja whose spouses had gone to the battlefield, leaving them alone to care for young children.
Looking at his determined clansmen below, Shisui silently nodded.
Then he put on the Uchiha Clan's battle robes and walked out.
Under the starlight and moonlight, one dark figure after another quietly left the peaceful, quiet little village.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]